One of our Santa Ana clients recently received her conditional resident card based on her marriage to her US citizen husband. The couple began dating in Mexico almost 15 years ago but split up when the man went to the US to study at an American college on an F-1 visa. They began talking again in 2010 when they were both working in law-related jobs. He obtained his green card through employment and later naturalized to become a US citizen.

One year ago, the couple married and had a child shortly thereafter. The wife entered the US legally using a tourist visa about 18 months ago. We filed for adjustment of status after the marriage. We provided photos of the couple when they were younger along with the birth certificate of their daughter. We collected substantial amounts of evidence to prove the marriage was entered into in good faith.

At the interview, everything went smoothly. The officer with whom I’ve worked several times was professional, thorough and kind in his questioning and the interview lasted about 30 minutes. At the end, she was granted conditional resident status which means she’ll need to file an I-751 two years from now.

We were able to obtain a temporary I-551 stamp in her passport so they can take their infant daughter to Mexico to visit their family over the holidays. Her green card should arrive before then, but if it doesn’t she can use her temporary I-551 to gain admission into the US as a resident.

I recently attended a USCIS interview for adjustment of status in the Santa Ana office. Our clients were a married couple. The wife’s son was born in the United States and turned 21 years old in Spring. Although the wife entered the US illegally in the early 90s, she was 245i eligible based on a visa petition filed by a relative prior to April 1, 2001; therefore, she was able to adjust status to permanent resident without leaving the United States.

The husband married the wife when the stepson was still young enough; therefore, he was able to adjust status based on his US citizen stepson reaching 21 years of age. The husband entered the country legally so he was not required to pay the 245i penalty fee; he was eligible to adjust status through a concurrent visa petition/adjustment of status filing.

At the interview, the officer was very thorough and asked many questions about the couple’s marriage to make sure they didn’t marry solely for immigration purposes (i.e. so the husband could benefit from the stepson’s US citizen status). We provided ample evidence showing the couple had been together for almost 15 years including photos, tax returns, mortgage payment history, banking history, life insurance and car insurance. The interview lasted almost an hour, but both cases were approved by the end.

The couple was very happy with the result. They have been waiting to legalize their status for decades and now they have a path to citizenship. They plan to visit family in Mexico that they have not seen in over 15 years. If you have a close relative that is a US citizen or permanent resident and are curious about whether they can help you become a permanent resident, contact Nelson & Nuñez to schedule a consultation. John Nelson and Jay Nuñez will listen to your story and explain how the immigration laws apply to you.

The U Visa Unit, which also handles domestic abuse cases (VAWA) and victims of human trafficking (T visas), has suspended processing of I-918 forms at this time. The U Visa Unit is focusing attention on updating the U visa cap numbers. The VSC hopes to resume I-918 processing for alien victims of crime as soon as the cap number backlog is resolved.

As a general rule, alien spouses involved in bigamous marriages with US citizens are ineligible to receive immigration benefits based on their bigamous marriage. This means if an alien marries a US citizen who is already married to someone else, the marriage is considered illegitimate and cannot support a visa petition or green card.

In VAWA (Violence Against Women Act) cases, the rules are different. If the VAWA self-petitioner believed he or she was married but was subject to bigamy, the alien may still be eligible for VAWA benefits including a green card.

A VAWA self-petitioner involved in a bigamous marriage must show that:

1) She believed the US citizen or permanent resident was free to enter into the marriage;2) The marriage was bona fide other than the bigamy;3) The marriage ceremony was actually performed.

It is often necessary to get creative in proving bona fide marriage in bigamy VAWA cases. Likewise, the self-petitioner must be meticulous in proving that s/he reasonably believed the citizen/resident spouse was free to marry – showing the spouse’s family members were supportive of the union and attended the wedding is helpful here.

As with any VAWA case, there are several other requirements the self-petitioner must meet including good moral character and satisfying certain time restrictions on filing if the marriage has terminated due to death or divorce.

If you are considering a domestic violence-based immigration case, contact Nelson & Nuñez to schedule a consultation. Jay Nuñez has personally handled many VAWA cases and can help you better understand the process and viability of your case.

One of our Fullerton clients was approved for a conditional resident green card based on her same sex marriage to her US citizen wife. The couple married earlier this year and we filed for the adjustment of status in May 2015. Six months later, we attended the adjustment of status interview at USCIS in Santa Ana.

Our clients have known each other for many years, but they were both previously married to men. It wasn't until the last couple years that they divorced and began a romantic relationship with each other.

With our concurrent visa petition/adjustment of status filing we were careful to provide proof of prior divorces along with ample evidence of our clients' good faith marriage. We included photos of holidays together with family and in-laws.

Because same-sex adjustment of status cases are still relatively new, the interview was fairly long and the questioning was exhaustive but fair. John Nelson, who handled the adjustment interview, had known the interviewing officer for over two decades and the mood of the interview was congenial and professional. We were well-prepared to show documents supporting the bona fides of the marriage. The officer approved the case on the spot.

The couple is very happy about the result and looks forward to moving forward with their lives. Because their marriage is less than two years old, the non-citizen spouse was granted conditional residency for two years. The couple will be required to provided USCIS with further evidence of their relationship two years from now.

If you are a non-citizen involved in a same sex marriage, contact Nelson & Nuñez to schedule a consultation. Jay Nuñez and John Nelson will personally meet with you to help you better understand the process and whether you have a viable route to permanent residency.

VAWA self-petitioners must meet several requirements including proving that s/he resided with the US citizen or permanent resident spouse; s/he was battered or subjected to extreme cruelty during the marriage; the marriage was entered in good faith; and, s/he has good moral character.

The good moral character requirement can be an especially tricky issue in some cases. I have seen cases involving domestic abuse in which the VAWA self-petitioner was arrested and even charged with domestic violence. Oftentimes when the police arrive at a home involving a domestic dispute, they will arrest both parties if it is unclear who was at fault. Many domestic violence victims also have domestic violence charges on their criminal background check. In other cases, the abusive spouse coerces or threatens the victim into breaking the law - stealing or prostitution are not uncommon.

This can be problematic when trying to prove good moral character. If the VAWA self-petitioner lacks good moral character, the VAWA petition will be denied.

However, a conviction that would otherwise bar a showing of good moral character may be excused if the self-petitioner can show that s/he is eligible for a waiver and the criminal act was connected to the battering or extreme cruelty. The USCIS officer adjudicating the VAWA self-petition need not decide that the waiver would be granted; the officer merely needs to conclude that a criminal conviction waiver will be eligible for filing at the time of adjustment of status.

To establish that the criminal act was connected to the abuse, the VAWA self-petitioner must establish that the abuse "compelled or coerced" the alien to commit the crime such that "the self-petitioner would not have committed the crime if s/he had not been subjected to the abuse. VAWA self-petitioners should include a detailed explanation of what happened with the crime and the abuser's role in the situation. The causal relationship between the abuse and the crime should be explained thoroughly. Any corroborating evidence such as witness affidavits are helpful. Sometimes police reports might mention the abuser as well.

Because this is a common scenario and the Vermont Service Center has handled countless cases involving VAWA self-petitioners with criminal records, they are understanding of how domestic abuse relationships work and the massive power discrepancy involved; however, the filing must be well-organized and thorough in order to overcome any possible good moral character issues.

If you are considering a VAWA case, contact Nelson & Nuñez to schedule a consultation. Jay Nuñez has personally handled many VAWA cases and can help you better understand the process and viability of your case.

We recently received an approval for a U visa client from Ontario, California. The client came to us two years ago after hiring a notario to handle the processing. The notario filed an incomplete packet with USCIS, leaving out crucial forms and evidence.

USCIS sent a Request for Additional Evidence (“RFE”) to the notario, who requested more money from the client before she would fix the mistakes.

The notario filed the RFE response but left out a required form (Form I-192). The case was denied and the client came to us to fix everything.

We filed a motion to reopen explaining that our client did not speak English and the notario mishandled the case. USCIS agreed to reopen the case.

Two years later, a U visa became available when the fiscal year began, and we just received the approval for the U visa.

If you have been the victim of a major crime and cooperated with law enforcement to try to arrest and/or convict the criminals, you might be eligible for a U visa. Contact Nelson & Nuñez to schedule a consultation so we can evaluate your case and see if the U visa is a viable option.